MIXED MESSAGES ON EGG SAFETY

The American Egg Board runs a website called "The Incredible Egg" (http://www.incredibleegg.org/). Generally speaking, it's a useful site for education of the public with basic facts and recipes using eggs. It also has a section on egg safety. But the egg safety message is contradictory.

Here's what the advice on the site says:

"Making Sure Your Eggs Are Safe to Eat
Eggs should be cooked until the whites and yolks are firm or, for dishes containing eggs, until an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit is reached because Salmonella is destroyed by the heat of cooking."

This advice agrees with the advice given by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration - the two key U.S. agencies involved in regulation of eggs.

Now look at some of the illustrations of eggs from the website (and these are just some of them). Are these eggs really "well-cooked?"

And if you look at some of the recipes, you'll see that these expressly suggest that you keep the yolks from becoming firm. That goes against USDA and FDA advice. Since research has shown that Salmonella bacteria (the most common ones in whole fresh eggs) can turn up in both the yolk and the white (albumin) of the egg, they suggest you be safe and make sure both are cooked until they are no longer runny. That is, as the Egg Board itself says: "until the whites and yolks are firm."

Alright - well-cooked eggs aren't as photogenic, but the American Egg Board needs to put out a consistent message to consumers on egg safety.

To your good health,

TSF

SALMONELLA IN ORGANIC EGGS AGAIN

No, Salmonella has not disappeared from our eggs yet, much as everyone is trying and hoping (see all those posts I wrote during that huge Wright Farms egg recall in August, 2010).

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture are investigating Larry Schulz Organic Farm of Owatonna and the eggs it produces. It seems that the eggs were only distributed to restaurants, grocery stores, food wholesalers and foodservice companies in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan - not elsewhere.

Oh yes, the eggs are organic. I hope my very nice doctor at UCSF Medical Center is reading this (certified organic egg production keeps hens in free-range conditions: we had a related discussion last week when I saw her).

What we know so far is that the illness of at least six people (both children and adults) in Minnesota seem to be connected to eating this farm's eggs, and, that lab tests have turned up Salmonella Enteritidis in samples taken from the farm's environment with the same genetic footprint. Sounds suspicious.

And of course, as usual, and just to add to the confusion, our industrialized food supply means that they have been sold under several brand names: Lunds & Byerly’s Organic, Kowalski’s Organic, and Larry Schultz Organic Farm. The eggs are packed in bulk and varying sizes of cartons (6-egg cartons, dozen egg cartons, 18-egg cartons). If you want a full product descriptions and a list of stores where the suspect eggs were sold, go to www.mda.state.mn.us.

Well, that brings us to an important point again that I keep repeating: forget about sunny-side up eggs or other forms of undercooked eggs or foods that contain them (see The Safe Food Handbook for a long list - there is a whole chapter on Salmonella in eggs). Yes, they may taste great. But think of it this way: you'll taste them for say, 5 minutes, but if you get sick from Salmonella, you'll feel totally miserable for days.

To your good health,
TSF